LG Optimus Me P350

Expected soon30th
January 2011, updated 10th February 2011

Launched in a very low key manner a few days ago by LG, and lacking
even some of the most basic details, the LG Optimus Me is
another addition to the Android-powered Optimus series of smartphones
where it sits at the bottom of the range.

It probably says a lot about the target market when a device
like this is launched on Facebook and YouTube rather than traditional
channels, although we expect that the phone will be presented in
a formal way at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

What we know for certain is that the Optimus Me is an Android
2.2 smartphone with a 3 megapixel camera on the back, has an FM
radio, a 600 MHz processor, a 1280 mAh battery, has WiFi and
it comes in a variety of colours. We assume that it is at least
a 3G phone (most likely 3.5G) and comes with GPS, as every other
Android phone we can think of has that.

Several sources have quoted the screen resolution as being 320
x 480 pixels, but LG's own hardware
profile states that the Optimus Me has a much more modest 240
x 320 pixels, something that can be confirmed by measuring the screen
ratio. Pixel count is one thing.. screen size is another, and a
very close look at LG's
promotional video indicates that this is a small device, around
110 x 59 x 12mm and with a 2.8" or 3.0" display.

We don't know when the LG Optimus Me will become available, although
it is probably this quarter. And as for pricing.. well, that's another
little mystery, but our best guess is that this will retail for
about €200 or so SIM-free.

The LG Optimus Me pushes smartphone features into what was previously
the dumber "feature phone" price range. LG in particular
has seen feature phone sales slump as consumers raise their expectations
of what a touchscreen phone should do. Despite the modest technical
specifications of the Optimus Me, we think that a device such as
this may open up a significant market.

Update 10/2/11: Some additional specifications
from LG confirm that this the display is a 2.8" 240 x 320 pixel
panel and that the camera is capable of VGA video capture at 24
frames per second.